Mobility, Language, and Secular Womanhood: Reconstructing Identity in the Writings of Thankamma Malik

Abstract

This paper analyzes Malik’s Malayalam short stories, which intertwine themes of religion, marital life, and female conjugality, reflecting broader discussions about gender and religious identities in twentieth-century India, especially regarding Muslim women’s ‘piety.’ Malik’s writings confront male reformist perspectives and unsettled contemporary Muslim women writers who uphold the “good Muslim” trope through didactic literature. Furthermore, by fluidly navigating language and genre expectations, Malik disrupts traditional narratives about Muslim women’s roles and identities, challenging works that reinforce this trope of literature.